Hotels in Rome

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Can anyone recommend a hotel in Rome?

We are a family for four: kids are 8 and 11.

We are in Rome for 6 nights in July/August.

We have been looking at lots of different hotels. Hotel Artemide has been the best at responding to questions so far. But I was not sure whether this would be noisy as it is on a main road.

We have also looked at Fortyseven (but I noticed quite a few complaints on TA from people not being able to access the restaurant because of private functions). I wondered if this was a bit out of things.

We have also looked at Capo d'Africa, the Albergo del Senato, Hotel Lord Byron , Teatro Pace and the Babuino 181 (although this was very expensive).

I just don't know what to choose!

We want somewhere comfortable with good services e.g. bar, restaurant (our eldest son is autistic) and near to the tourist sites.

We don't mind a bit of noise if we are near to the sites but wouldn't want to be stuck on a main road with traffic noise and then still have to walk distances to get anywhere of an evening.

Also, is it best to book up now or wait to see if there are any offers? We have booked flights.

Any help appreciated.

We stayed at a hotel last year (recommended by a lovely mumsnetter) that was next to the albergo del senato and in terms of location, it was fabulous and would highly recommend. The piazza is busy at night but we didn't find the noise was bad and loved the atmosphere, the pantheon was a beautiful site and you can go in first thing in the morning before the crowds arrive. It is also walking distance to many of the attractions. When we were there, there were VIPs in the albergo del senato complete with bodyguards and police so it must be a pretty nice place.

I would book soon as places get booked up very quickly, we struggled and went in October when it is quieter.

Trouble is you never know what room you'll get in a hotel. So one persons well located hotel with page rooms is a different matter if you have the room facing the bars that stay open till the early hours. Also rubbish collections seem to happen very early in Europe!
I agree that the Albergo del Senato is a great location. Lots to see in the immediate area and you stroll around to find restaurants without going miles. It's so hot in August that having an easy to find hotel is a real bonus. You won't get lost as you head back to the Panetheon.
I would also suggest that a hotel heading left as you look at a map - towards the Tiber is a good idea. Vatican, St Peters etc are the other side of the river.
A hotel further down towards the Colosseum is quite a long walk everyday to see all the other sites and then back in the evening.
Could you not get an apartment? Then you know exactly what you are getting. It's also good to have a your own balcony to sunbathe on, have lunch at your own table and let the kids chill out early afternoon.It's very very hot midday. We went with Sleeping Italy who were good, helpful and reasonable in price. Ours was next to a supermarket ,the best ice cream in Rome according to the Times and good restaurants.

We stayed at the Kolbe Hotel near to The Forum. It is also only about 10 minutes from all the restaurants in Trastevere. There are buses to get to other areas or the underground. The Capo d'Africa has always intrigued me and I would like to stay there. I have to say I would avoid Rome in high summer - too hot to be pleasant.

Thanks for your responses. We were tempted by the Albergo del Senato but I think a first floor suite would be a bit too much to cope with.

I appreciate it is very hot that time of year but we were not organised enough to plan for May! The kids are now too excited about it to wait til October hols.